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Calling all LAist fans: How to get Google to give you our stories in your search results
Join LAist's growing network of fans by setting us as a preferred news site for your Google searches today.
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It's hard out there for local news. If you're reading this story, chances are you're familiar with LAist's award-winning journalism — and you may even know something about how challenging it's been for independent local nonprofit newsrooms like ours in recent years.
The good news: There's now a simple step you can take to make sure when you're searching for news and information on Google, you'll get our stories.
That's because the tech giant rolled out a new program last month that lets you tell it where you'd prefer your news sources to originate.
The feature, called "preferred sources," allows you, in Google's words, to "customize your news experience in Search so you can see more of the sites you love."
While it doesn't mean you'll never again see far-away aggregators serving up L.A. and Southern California local stories, it should mean you'll see our stories high in your "top stories" section or the area called "From your sources" on the search results page.
Here's how
To add LAist.com as a preferred source, follow this link to Google's source preferences page. We've pre-populated LAist for you, but we do need you to click the box (see below).
From there, you can add other favorite sources if you want.
Why it matters
As LAist's editor-in-chief, I'd like to say in advance that we very much appreciate you choosing LAist as one of the sites you love. Small steps like this are an easy way to support independent, fact-checked, and local journalism.
And for anyone concerned that AI is taking over your search with information you're not sure you can rely on, this is something you can do to make sure news organizations that you trust appear high in your results.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
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